Ed Hale is a master chef. He takes you into his kitchen with Nothing is Cohesive and drizzles sonic béarnaise on your brain. This writer has wondered since 1990 when Ed’s well of creativity would run dry – no one man could keep up the torrid flow of song from a single brain – and Nothing is Cohesive provides no clue that this could be imminent. Back to the kitchen: ‘Softening’ oozes delectably like a ripened triple cream brie. ‘Caetano’s’ heartfelt paean comes across so beautifully pained and sincere that one can almost dig the homo-erotic overtones without feeling like a fag. The “A side” single ‘Somebody Killed the DJ’ is the pastrami sandwich of the CD: thick, meaty, piquant, and slathered in a danceable and melodic mustard of the coarse, seeded (not exactly deli-style) variety…

Stu Stewart
Lobsters and Walruses
December 10th, 2004